moviefanfictaionfandomcom-20200215-history
Tonka (2011 film)
Tonka is a 2011 American action film based on the toy franchise created by Hasbro. It is the eighth film in the Hasbro Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Cody Dickson in his directorial debut, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Tonka features an ensemble cast based on the various characters of the franchise. The story follows three American soldiers, Joe, Blaze, Soda, who join the Tonka Team after being attacked by Military Enhanced Control Hybrid (M.E.C.H.) troops. Production on the film first started in 2005. With deadlines jeopardized by possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, Wisemen managed to finish the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by the film's writers Jim Kouf, and Jay Wolpert. Tonka premeired at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on July 30, 2011 and was released worldwide on August 5, following an extensive marketing campaign focused on the Mid-American public. The film opened at the top of the box office, and grossed over $387.9 million worldwide by the end of its run. Critical reception was generally mixed. A sequel titled Tonka: Ignition was released on March 27, 2015. Plot Cast Tonka *Stephen Amell as Joseph Blackstone / Tonka Joe *Missy Peregrym as Susan Blackstone / Suzy Sparks *Angie Stevenson as M.E.C.H. Voice cast Tonka *Bruce Greenwood as Axle M.E.C.H. *Anthony LaPilliga as Rourke Production Development Don Murphy was considering other projects at the time when Transformers was in production. Filming Music Release Marketing The film's actors were scanned for Hasbro's toy line, which began in July 2011 with the release of 3 3/4-inch tall action figures. Tonka toy line also includes 12-inch figures, and vehicles, including the first play set based on the Garage in the franchise's history. For viral marketing, black helicopters with "Tonka" written on them flew over American beaches. Tie-ins were made with Symantec, 7-Eleven, and Burger King. Home media Tonka was released on November 3, 2011 on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in regular and two-disc editions, and later as a book. Both disc editions include audio commentary by Len Wisemen and Bob Ducsay, and two making-of featurettes, with the second disk of the special edition holding a digital copy of the film. The film opened at #1 at the DVD sales chart, making $40.9 million from 2,538,000 DVD units in the first week of its release. The film sold more than 3.8 million discs, 500,000 of them on Blu-ray, during its first week. Reception Box office Tonka grossed $134.5 million in North America and $253.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $387.9 million. Critical reception The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 57% approval rating with an average rating of 4.6/10 based on 159 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "While fans of the Hasbro toy franchise may revel in a bit of nostalgia, Tonka is largely a cartoonish, over-the-top action fest propelled by silly writing, inconsistent visual effects, and merely passable performances." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 25 reviews. Accolades Amell was nominated the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor: Action for his performance as Joe and the film also received three other Teen Choice Award nominations: Choice Movie: Action, Choice Movie Actress: Action for Missy Peregrym, and Choice Movie: Villain for Sean Faris. Sequel References Category:Tonka Category:Hasbro Cinematic Universe films Category:Paramount Pictures films Category:2011 films Category:Films based on toys